Nation To Decide New Crop Of Redcoats

For the first time ever, Butlins is launching an X-Factor-style search for the next generation of its famous Redcoats. The nation can play Simon Cowell by looking at the would-be Redcoat’s audition videos online and voting for their favourites.

Current TV stars Stephen Mulhern and Naomi Wilkinson got their first break at Butlins and now hopeful Redcoats are being urged to upload their audition videos to YouTube with the best 300 applicants being put through to the next round of interviews.

What to do
1. To vote log on to www.youtube.com/user/wearebutlins and visit the ‘I Want To Be A Butlins Redcoat’ playlist to view the videos
2. To enter log on and upload a video before 15th November 2009
3. Keep up to date with all the latest news at twitter.com/redcoataudition or by joining the ‘I Want To Be A Butlins Redcoat’ group on Facebook.

Known for world class family entertainment, Butlins Redcoats are famed for their high energy, lively personalities and ability to entertain parents and children alike. The holiday company receives thousands of applications for the 20 new Redcoat positions created each year.

Butlins Head of Entertainment Mike Godolphin said: “It’s time for the Redcoats to go online! The Redcoat auditions are always an important time of year for us and we’ve now truly embraced the social media phenomenon and invited the nation to become part of the process. We’re even on Twitter! Hopeful Redcoats are about to become internet stars for the first time.”
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HOW TO ENTER
1. Film your audition piece on a video camera, camera phone, or webcam, keeping it to no longer than one minute in length. Please bear in mind that submissions featuring nudity, profanities or anything that may be offensive to our viewers will NOT be accepted
2. Save your video in a compatible format (WMV, 3GP, AVI, MOV, MP4, MPEG, FLV and MKV are all acceptable)
3. Create a YouTube account or log in to your pre-existent account at www.youtube.com and upload your audition video
4. Here’s the very important bit: When you’re editing the video description, add the tag ‘redcoataudition’ and set the privacy to ‘share your video with the world’. This will help us to find your video and add it to our YouTube channel
5. Your video should shortly appear on our YouTube channel under ‘I Want To Be A Redcoat’ in our ‘Playlists’ section
6. After the competition closes on 15th November 2009 Butlins will shortlist 300 entrants, based on their video submissions, who will then be invited to a second round face-to-face audition at Butlins. Should you make the shortlist, please make sure we can contact you through a private message on YouTube by unchecking the option ‘Allow only friends to send messages or share videos’ on your privacy option

The Butlins Redcoats
Redcoats were the first type of “coat entertainers” or “Reps” in the holiday industry at UK holiday parks.
There are approximately 150 Redcoats across Butlins three UK Holiday Resorts
More than 1.5 million guests are entertained by the Redcoats each year
Previous Redcoat jackets have been designed by Zandra Rhodes and Jeff Banks

Butlins has three beachside Resorts, Bognor Regis (West Sussex), Minehead (Somerset) and Skegness (Lincolnshire) and welcomes around 1.5m guests per year. Although it mainly offers family breaks it also offers around 50 Big Weekend breaks – music themed breaks for those aged 18+.

Butlins Family Holidays is part of Bourne Leisure Ltd which also owns Warner Leisure Hotels and Haven Holidays and was awarded Best Travel Company 2008 by Travel Trade Gazette. Bourne Leisure was also voted second in the Best Big Company to work for award in the Sunday Times’ list out on 8 March 2009.